Notes / Commercial Description:
Our Victory at Sea Imperial Porter is a bold, smooth brew with just the right amount of sweetness. We infused this robust porter with whole vanilla beans and San Diego’s own Caffe Calabria coffee beans. The subtle roasted notes and minimal acidity of the cold brewed coffee, balances perfectly with the sweet caramel undertones of the malt, creating a winning combination for your palate.

Reviews by UTCengOwl:

More User Reviews:

First off this is an exceptional beer. I had wanted to try it since it came out by missed all the bottles on sale, needless to say when I was able to trade for some it made my day. Served at a nice 55 degrees and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 04/04/2009.

The pour was fantastic. Huge dark beer here, black as night as it pours out. A big cascading brown head comes up and over the top and then settles down into a half inch layer that hung around for the entire rest of the session. The aroma was vanilla, huge vanilla beer and light cafe like coffee notes. Some hints of roasted malts, but vanilla in a beer like I have never come across before. Not terribly sweet and fake, this was like whiffing good vanilla ice cream. As I take the first sip, wow. This beer is suprising the crap out of me. First off where is my 12 percent? This is soo smooth I really got caught off guard by my second glass. The vanilla explosion followed through on the taste, rich and creamy with light and sweet coffee notes following through on them as well. Really tight flavor here, smooth with a long drawn out finish that was sweet, delicate and drying enough to make me want another in a minute.

Overall this was a very unique beer, that falls squarely into the dessert category. I was very happy, and very suprised with how big this was and how good it was as well. A winner here for sure!

Coffee? Vanilla? What's there not to love in a larger than life Porter? Throw in a completely intimidating label and we have ourselves an instant winner!

The beer pours a thick, viscous, nearly black color with a creamy lace of carbonation that retains well and clings to the sides of the glass in moderate fashion. Legging shows barley-stained liquids crawling just beyond the lace. Complete opaqueness makes this beer rival the biggest of Stouts.

Strongly Porter-like in aroma: not as roasty as a Stout, but heavy toast, dry toffee, bitter cocoa, and deep espresso notes peppered all over the scent. Vanilla softness helps to temper the aggression from coffee and toast but it leaves me wanting much more.

Even stronger flavors of heavy, heavy toast, espresso, and a charred flavor that makes me think ash. Still, the toffee and vanilla do little to balance the stronger darker flavors. They have some melding together to do.

Very bitter and strong bite from the roasted grains create a harsh feel that the sweetness cannot round out. Bitterness is aggrevated by high grassy hops, coffee oils, and alcohols making the beer a bit of a chore late.

The beer seems to have a lot of 'young' characteristics that may come together better with age. Regardless, a heavier vanilla taste and feel could improve the beer.

Coffee, vanilla what's not to like? I love this beer. Rarely will I rate a porter over a Imperial Stout but this brew beats most of them hands down in my book. If you like Imperial Stouts and you have a chance to try this get it right then don't wait don't think about it! Pay the man and enjoy.

Okay,
Just found one of these down here in good old FL, a rarity I can assure you. Read alot about this bad boy and am super excited to try it. Here goes the play by play as I drink it.

A- Poured dark, I mean really dark, burnt brown color. Nice 3/4" head but quickly recedes and not much lacing.

S- Holy Coffee! That's not a good sign for me. I like coffee for breakfast and beer for dinner and I likes 'em separate. I was hoping to be overpowered with vanilla but it is definitely coffee. Dammit, I hope this doesn't taste like some Kona Pipeline Porter which I bought a case of and can barely stomach the swill.

T- Coffee and beer dammit to hell. Where the hell is the vanilla guys? It DEFINITELY says vanilla porter on the label. How about labeling it [email protected] Coffee porter **Now without vanilla!!** I could have had a Cigar City Cubano Espresso which tastes very similar, BUT, I did not want a coffee beer. I'm sure many people out there love this (as witnessed by the rating) but this is not the "vanilla porter" I signed up for.

M- It does have a nice thick and creamy mouthfeel even though the coffee is overpowering.

Well, at least I can say I have tried it. I have another one of these that someone might want to trade for. I don't know, maybe as it gets older it will get better but this is definitely not for me.

T: Big flavors of coffee and molasses on a solid base of roasted malts. The roastiness is obviously there, but definitely isn't as strong as the coffee. There is the PERFECT amount of vanilla sweetness on the finish. Not underwhelming, but not overwhelming, it is just the right amount.

M: Creamy mouthfeel that isn't overly viscous with a low amount of carbonation. Medium bodied and semi dry on the finish.

O: Overall I thought this was an excellent beer that has robust flavors of coffee and the ideal amount of vanilla sweetness. It is my go to dessert beer, and I will be drinking it for years to come.

Poured into my Ommegang wide flute glass, a beautiful black coloring with big, frothy brown head which dissipates slowly and laces the entire way down. A burst of vanilla greets you and is accompanied by some nice roasted chocolate notes. Smoked toffee and chocolate (with hints of vanilla) dominate the experience and overall this brew has a bitterness slightly more intense then coffee. Considering it's a 10% ABV, it has a pleasant texture and is easy to drink. Really great weekend beer, what else can I say about another exceptional Ballast Point offering?

Tastes just like it describes on the bottle: vanilla and coffee yet delivers some extra flavoring such as roasted malts, hints of toasted marshamellow, slightly smoked macadamia nuts, chocolate, and light boozy alcohol notes that warm the throat. For 10% abv it is very smooth, can barely taste the alcohol. It is more a breakfast stout than Founder's Breakfast stout. Also tastes more like a stout than a porter, but delicious nevertheless.
Poured into a goblet color is pitch black like a cold coffee with a creamy head that quickly diminished into a thin white line.
Aroma is of coffee and vanilla.
Body is medium filled with sweet sensations.
Perfect for Christmas morning, afternoon, or evening. Perfect for a snowy winter's day. Perfect beer on a day to stay home from work and enjoy before breakfast.

On tap at the Salty Pig. This was such a big tasting bomb of a porter - amazing stuff. Enjoyed it while I listened to my buddy John talked about his match.com dates as of late. Made me wonder why someone doesn't order a 12 pack of these for a 1st date. 6 each of these bad guys, and everyone will be in love. Anyways.....great beer. Wonder why Beer Advocate doesn't offer a dating website on the side. This could not fail...

Shared with Mike - thanks to GetMeAnIPA for sending this one my way. Pours a deep and dark obsidian-like color; very, very little brown on the edges with a solid, fine-bubbled tan head that fades much too fast. A quick swirl of the glass can coax it back, but only for a few moments.

The aroma on this one is very tantalizing; heavy, HEAVY roasted coffee beans - I'm talking burnt, scorched, charred, ashy. These beans smell super roasted and super bitter. This plays off of a delicate sweetness induced from the vanilla aromas that hang in the balance. Might be a tiny bit of cocoa somewhere deep in the abyss, but any attempt to further sniff it out is just met with more and more heaps of coffee beans, roasted malts, and light vanilla. I've always been partial to bitter porters rather than overly sweet ones. The nose on this beer tells me that my bias may be in effect.

...and right I was - the aroma is a perfect indication of the malt assessment in Victory At Sea. From the moment the beer hits your tongue, your palate is pile-driven with an enormous roasted, charred, and borderline burnt flavor. Coffee beans, coffee beans, coffee beans. Imaging taking a hand full of French Roast coffee beans, scorching them in a skillet, then shoving them in your face. A little overboard? Maybe.... but you get the idea. The alcohol is also noticeable from the first sip to the last, but at 10% ABV, I have no complaints. Some lightly sweet vanilla coats each and every sip also, providing a tiny bit of balance to the bitter-roasted brigade. Some chocolate definitely comes out more upon warming, although it was nearly absent in the aroma. The aftertaste is a compilation of mild charcoal flavors with some ashy and dry bitterness - a "balls to the walls", unadulterated coffee bean roast. Medium-thick body with a decent amount of carbonation; mildly creamy and smooth.

Hell yes. Victory at Sea gives the roasty bitterness lovers more of what they crave. Such a roasted, charred, and bitter stout with lovely little sweetness interruptions to keep things interesting. Very pleasantly surprised by this one - great way to end the night.

Notes via stream of consciousness: This is not the first time I've had Victory At Sea. I had it on tap in San Diego a few years back. Or did I? I don't recall the alcohol being so clear. Hmm? I do remember thinking, however, that it was much more coffee-like (like opening a fresh bag of oily beans) than it was vanilla, and that remains. The vanilla is just a secondary note that helps to balance it, because let's face it, it is a pretty aggressive beer. It's strong, and it's completely saturated with coffee (one of the best coffee flavors I've ever had in a beer). There's an edge of dark roasted acidity to it, that along with the bitterness and alcohol brings it to an almost raspy finish. Note that I said almost. It's not quite there, but there's clearly enough that you'll know within the first quarter of the glass that this is not a beer to mess with. So is that good or bad? Depends on how you call it. Personally I think there's a time and place for every beer, and this one fits right in. But let's take a step back and cover the basics. Typical appearance. Opaque black-brown body with a thin edge of dark mahogany at the base of the glass. Creamy dark tan head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of oily coffee beans. Roasty and nutty with a touch of pine but not much else. The flavor follows but adds some vanilla and coconut and heat from the alcohol, which brings us full circle. I'm actually finding a bit of heat at the back of the throat, but I don't recall that - I must have been asleep at the time! Haahaa! So where do I stand on this? Intense and aggressive beer, but not completely overdone... brilliant! The coffee and vanilla work together with the malt and hops and it all comes together in the end. Is it heavy handed? Yes, but that's part of the charm - if it was any less feisty it wouldn't have (no pun intended) the fire that it has, and it would just fall into a clump of similar vanilla/coffee porters. So what to do with it? Normally I might suggest this beer as a sipper after dinner, but I think it demands more than that. It's too full throttle to be a nightcap (unless you want to pass out ;), or just sit idly by in a snifter while you work through chapter 23 of Moby Dick. No, this is something else. Pair it up with a raunchy comedy-concert vid or action adventure flick. Or make it your one strong beer with a back yard BBQ (should go well with saucy ribs or a more refined steak). I think you get the idea.

Huge, dark tan head atop a very dark ebony brew. Good retention, and as the head slides down the glass, it leaves spiderweb lacing behind.

Huge roasted barley and coffee aroma, with vanilla fighting for elbow space at the table. Smells very much like a big strong coffee stout - which is what it is, after all.

Flavor matches deliciously, with a ton of vanilla coming through in the 1st and final thirds - far more than hinted at by the aroma. Coffee, roasted barley, and chocolate malts all blend together in lovely fashion, allowing the vanilla to be the highlight on top of a very solid, slightly sweet base.

What a treat - I had never heard of this one and just got a bomber off the shelf because the description sounded intriguing. Such a great, big flavor with rich vanilla and a refined porter finish. Liked it so much I got a six-pack the other day.

L -- Pours a fairly dark reddish-black with a massive, four-finger tan head produced by a gentle/moderate pour. Decent retention and minimal lacing.
S -- The vanilla and coffee flavors definitely shine through here. Notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon, roasted malts, and toffee. Smells a lot like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which gives it a somewhat gimmicky character.
T -- As prior reviewers have noted, the flavor palate in this brew is largely dominated by a stale coffee flavor that isn't particularly appealing. At this point in my beer drinking career, I think it's pretty obvious that nearly all brewers struggle with keeping the coffee flavor in their brews fresh. Occasionally they are successful (think Speedway Stout, Péché Mortel, etc.), but more often they are not. Otherwise the flavors here are good: mild chocolate, barley, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon on the finish.
F -- The 10% ABV is masked well. Medium body with a smooth, tapering finish.
O -- Hmmm.... Maybe it's just me, but I feel like many of Ballast Point's offerings are hella overrated. Victory at Sea is an easy 80/100, but no way is it a 97/100.

Appearance:
Dark brown body, almost black and sealed with a dark tan head that’s three fingers thick, foamy and just looks like a nice place to rest on. Thick lacing marks every sip you take.
Smell:
Dark roasted malts and coffee and a mild semi sweet odor of dark chocolate, brown sugar and butter with a touch of caramel.
Taste:
Strong roasted malts and coffee at first followed by the bitterness of dark chocolate. The aftertaste is a milder version of the taste itself minus the bitterness.
Mouthfeel:
Light bodied.
Overall:
This is a great tasting porter with plenty of malts to go around.

First had 2/1/15 at Porter's Pub in Easton. One of their better offerings, the coffe and vanilla come through nicely and are balanced well. The porter underneath is spot on roasty, and has a little caramel flavor to it.

Alcohol content too high for a porter. Drinkability suffers because of this. The vanilla is lost; I didn't sense much if it here at all because it was full of roasty coffee and bitter hops. High IBUs are not necessary when you also have bitter coffee presence that is not tamed by a balancing sweetness. Needs less alcohol, more body, less hops, more vanilla, and some sort of balance so you don't just get a blast of bitterness from the coffee and hops.

I'm picky as hell so take the above advice with a grain of salt. I enjoyed this beer. A lot. Just being brutally honest with this review. The only reason it will not be a repeat buy is the cost at $15 for a sixer. It was truly one of the best porters I've ever had. I just wish the flaws mentioned were worked on.

Giant head- 3 inches or more- with visible carbonation flying up to replenish. Great retention. Thick and tan on top of a beautiful deep brown liquid. Great lacing too. Checks all the boxes for sure!

Delectable roast up front- not too dark, just perfect. Then a soft, herbal quality, a pleasant and light surprise, accompanied by what might even be the faintest touch of citrus. It works, trust me. Wondrous vanilla, bread, coffee again, and then some non-coffee roast flavors. Little chocolate. But the beautiful is in the name- some of the freshest coffee aromas I've ever encountered in beer, and the lovely, homely vanilla. I don't know which one makes me want a sip more. Together, I find myself willing to plunge my entire face into the glass. Injuries be damned.

First to the tongue is strong roast coffee- slightly acrid, even slightlier smoky, altogether wonderful. Quickly followed by the sweet and incredibly concentrated, but elegant, flavors of the vanilla. Herbal notes tickle, prickly coffee tones titillate mid-way. So damn fresh. Finish is the ubiquitous roast with some mellow bread. Mellow wasn't a way I would describe the beer until the exact moment I'm gulping down (and those malty tones coat the back of my throat and tongue). But now it's official. This beer has it all. Everything you could want- especially if you're a coffee junkie, or one of those people who takes a sip of the vanilla extract every time they bake a cake. Mid bitterness, mostly present on the finish. After is roast and vanilla, with chocolate building.

Mid-full body. Big and creamy but with prickly acidity as counterpoint. Kicks up and smacks the back of the mouth with every sip. And there's a touch of alcohol warmth, too!

Pours into a a mocha colored foamy explosion, nesting on top a beautiful opaque beast of a porter. Lacing? Yep, it's real and it's fantastic also.

Nose most reminiscent of cola more so than almost anything else I can pickup at first. A little warmth and agitation brings out some chocolate.

Tastes right there with the nose. I get a lot of cola at first, than a bitter chocolate retreat that is faintly sweet. Like unsweetened dark chocolate. I'm going to guess that the vanilla is manifesting itself as the cola I am getting? Finish is bitter chocolate and very little else. I guess I am getting a tad bit of heat? It's there just warming the innards I guess, but masked better than most anything I have ever had at 10%

This blurs the line between RIS and porter IMO. Such a great tasting beverage.

I picked up a bottle of Ballast Point's Victory At sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter last week for $2.49 at The Lager Mill. I've been wanting to try this beer for awhile and I'm interested to see how it turns out, so lets see how it goes. 2015 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks good, it's got a nice design, it goes well with the name and it's eye catching. It poured a nice dark black color that didn't let any light come through and it had a little over two fingers worth of fluffy and creamy dark tan head that died down to a thick ring that stayed till the end and it left some nice patchy lacing behind. This is a very nice looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the coffee being the first to show up and it imparts a big black coffee aroma which is the aspects that sticks out the most in this beer and it's followed by some roasted and slightly sweet malts showing up in the background. Up next comes just a little bit of fruit yeast and it leads into the vanilla which is nice and noticeable, but not too overpowering. This beer has a very good aroma that lives up to it's name.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the coffee still being the first to show up and it imparts that same big black coffee aspect that it did in the aroma and the roasted malts show up nicely in the background. Up next comes just a slight bit of that fruity yeast which leads into vanilla which is a lighter than it was in the aroma and on the finish there's a slightly higher amount of medium bitterness with with a little bit of noticeable alcohol and lots of coffee flavors coming through in the aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, but I wish it had a little less bitterness with some more vanilla flavors.

M- Fairly smooth, a little crisp, a little creamy, the alcohol could be hidden just a little better, on the light side of being full bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is good, but I wish it was a little smoother.

Overall I thought this was very nice and I thought it was a very nice example of the style, it had all the aspects that I was looking for, but when it came do it I wish it had a little better balance and I think a little more vanilla and a lees booze could have helped that. This beer had ok drinkability, one would be enough for me, it would get to be too much if I have more than that. What I like the most about this beer is the aroma and it's very nice and along with the coffee flavor it was the highlight of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is the mouthfeel and that the vanilla didn't show up more along with a little less booze. I would buy this beer again and I would be interested to see how it ages. I would recommend this beer, especially if you like strong coffee beers. All in all I was happy with this beer, given what I heard about it I thought it might be mind blowing and I think it would have been if the vanilla was a little more present with a little less booze, but it still turned out to be a very nice beer, it's just those aspects hold it back from being world class. It's up there with sculpin as my favorite beer from this brewery and it's a very nice example of the style. Good job guys, this is a pretty tasty beer.

Poured into a Cuvee tulip glass from a 12 oz. bottle with I believe a May 29th date.
Deep dark black with a tan head, which hangs around briefly and then leaves. Only a small trace amount is left along the top. Minimal to no lacing.
Tons of espresso coffee and sweet vanilla on the nose along with a nice malty roast.
Taste is delicious, just the right amount of coffee and vanilla balance.
A nice full mouth feel, starts out sweet and ends with a nice minimal bitterness.
Overall, a delicious beer that I am happy they started bottling in 12 ouncers! A perfect size for drinking especially with the 10% abv. Definitely a winner worthy of the hype.

L- Jet black body, creamy and fluffy tan head with eternal retention, very long. Looks amazing. Leaves a thin crown of head.
S- Freshly poured espresso, cream, vanilla.
T- Espresso, craeamy vanilla, dark chocolate, hazelnuts. Bitter resinous hops and booze at the end.
F- Medium silky body.
O- Great porter, I could do with less booze at the taste but I cant count it as a flaw knowing this is a 10% brew. Amazing.